Expanded Health Insurance Coverage,

Gun Control Among New Laws

By Matthew Daly

Associated Press

HARTFORD –– Health insurance companies will be required to cover mammograms, pap smears, colonoscopies, and hearing aids for children under a wide-ranging law that took effect October 1.

The new law, which supporters say could save hundreds of lives per year, was one of nearly 160 bills to take effect Monday after being approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov John G. Rowland.

Other new laws expand the state’s assault weapons ban, set standards for high school graduation and prevent school personnel from recommending Ritalin or other psychotropic drugs for children.

The Ritalin law – the first of its kind in the nation – has drawn international attention and reflects a growing backlash against what some see as overuse of behavioral drugs.

The measure does not prevent school officials from recommending that a child be evaluated by a medical doctor. But it is intended to make sure that the first mention of drugs for a behavior or learning problem comes from a doctor.

The bill’s sponsor, state Rep Lenny Winkler, R-Groton, has been interviewed by CNN, the BBC, and the London Times. Several states, including Minnesota, New York, and Utah, have proposed similar legislation in the wake of the Connecticut law.

The insurance bill is perhaps the most wide-ranging of the laws taking effect Monday. It includes a provision requiring insurers to provide coverage for experimental cancer treatments. The requirement on clinical trials for cancer patients does not take effect until January 1.

Under a separate law, insurers also will be forced to pay for medically necessary infant formula.

The rash of insurance bills follows complaints by consumers that not all insurance companies cover cancer screenings and other medical procedures.

The new laws “all are designed to further public health in the state of Connecticut,” said Rep Michael Jarjura, D-Waterbury, co-chairman of the General Assembly’s Insurance and Real Estate Committee.

Jarjura and other lawmakers said people are often afraid to enter clinical trials because they fear their insurance coverage will be suspended.

The new law also requires insurance companies to pay for colonoscopies and other tests for colorectal cancer. As of Monday, insurers will be required to cover a fecal occult blood test, colonoscopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy or radiologic imaging according to recommendations set by the American College of Gastroenterology.

Supporters say a colonoscopy is one of the best ways to detect colon cancer before it spreads.

Other cancer-detection tests covered under the law include pap smears and annual mammograms for women beginning at age 40 instead of 50. Current law requires mammogram coverage every other year for women in their 40s.

Children under the age of 13 would be able to get new hearing aids costing up to $1,000 every two years under the legislation. Rep Ann Dandrow, R-Southington, said the law should help thousands of children in the state.

Supporters also touted the gun control law, which expands an existing ban on assault weapons and authorizes police to seize weapons from gun owners who are considered dangerous.

The law targets “copycat” weapons that are similar to those already illegal under a 1993 law, but modified enough to escape that ban.

Senate Majority Leader George Jepsen, D-Stamford, said the measure will close an “enormous loophole” in a federal ban on assault weapons.

Sen Jepsen, a candidate for governor, said the success of the bill reflects a political change from eight years ago, when the National Rifle Association fought to block the state’s first assault weapons ban.

Robert Crook, a lobbyist for the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen, said gun advocates scored a victory this year when lawmakers exempted weapons made before 1994 from the new law.

The measure also bans .50-caliber armor-piercing and incendiary bullets; allows authorities to take guns away from those under restraining orders; and streamlines the state’s gun permit process.

Another law taking effect Monday requires local school districts to set standards for high school graduation. The law, a modified version of a high school exit exam pushed by House Republicans, would require districts to use a student’s scores on the 10th grade Connecticut Academic Performance Test to determine graduation standards.

Private companies that perform public functions will be required to comply with freedom of information rules under another law taking effect Monday. The law is aimed at companies such as Envirotest Systems Inc, the East Granby firm that runs the state’s troubled emissions program and has denied public access to its records. Information related to the company’s finances will remain exempt.